Closing Space

In 1950, the open space lands from Hayward to Pleasanton in California were privately owned and sprawl development was booming. By 2020, the frontier was closed, and almost all the shorelands and ridgelands in this large area were protected as public open space and by regulation. The land was saved by many advocates and these are their stories, many narratives sometimes parallel to each other, other times connecting, involving elections, referendums, litigation, bond measures, lobbying, organizing, and campaigns. Each story is simple enough, but taken together they add up to a long and complex history.